As I write this it may be too late for the bielefelder pullet but onwards: We have a small flock of 3.5 month old birds who are free range. They're on commerical food appropriate for their age, have access to clean water at all times. No overcrowding.

A couple weeks ago a cockerel went down fast, scarcely moved, wouldn't eat and was dead the next morning. His necropsy has not yet come back and the vet was stumped. Animal looked okay (a little cocci) but his heart was ruined which appeared to be the COD. He thought it might be myco but was waiting on more results.

Since then we've been treating the whole flock for 8 days now with an antibiotic which works on myco (can't recall the name specifically, I'm at work).

Today our only bielefelder pullet appears to have the same symptoms, looking weak, eyes closed, not moving much. She looked okay this morning.

The birds have been having sneezing both before and during treatment but no severe symptoms. To me they appear thin but active. They were on amprolium feed up until they were about 3 months old, I think it's time to go back.

I've tried researching heart related infections but am coming up empty handed and it burns me to lose another bird fast and hard, have it be spreading, and not know what it is.

It is hard to "judge" in such a situation. But for me, if something is happening VERY FAST, then poisonning with something is quite probable. I do not think the sneezing alone can kill a bird that quickly.

I thought worms but his digestive tract was supposedly very good. Still no official results but the vet thought it may have been from a fungi, asper perhaps. We are using an old building that had a portion of rotting wood but I would have never thought of it as a cause.

The bielefelder has held her own but was holding her wings laxly yesterday and today. Many are still sneezing but do not have any discharge, gurgling or watery eyes.

Appetites are good, however the spitzhauben cockerel is very bony. Other than scratch feed, which we've been supplementing with, what are other foods to pack on weight? I'd like to see him and some of the others flesh out before cold weather hits.

It appears you changed feed about 2 to 3 weeks ago? How was their weight before that? They should be growing fast at this point and nutrition is very important. Be SURE the feed is not old or has drawn moisture which could cause molds, even if not seen mold could still be present. I would consider adding a vitamin supplement to their water. Corn would have higher calorie content but it should not take away from their complete ration feed. 18% grower is what I would be feeding with cracked corn as a treat. Good luck to you!

Their weight wasn't bad, some are thinner than what I'd like to see while others aren't bad. I need to actually get a scale. They were on Blue Seal medicated chick start which is 20% protein/3-4% fat and we switched to a grower formula still designed for pullets with 15% protein and 3-5% fat. In addition to scratch I've been doling out cooked egg and soft catfood mixed with the grower crumble. I'll have to get to another feed store for the higher stuff, seems like no one has a good chick/grower selection this time of year.

Feed was bought new. The other other thing I used on them was Ivermectin drops because they were lice-infested and they cleared up fine. A different pullet was acting logey today so we isolated her and she was eating quite well. It's like a new one is sick daily then they get better.

Sneezing is still occuring, but again no other visible respiratory distress. I'm hoping the Oxine will help nip this in the bud after another vet reminder call for results.

I generally feed higher protein than most text suggest. 15% is often the suggested number for grower (stage between chick and layer). The egg and cat food should boost that number as well. Try to get cat food with low salt content. Some cat foods have added salt to make the cats drink more water to help pass hair balls so they don't yak them up. Birds can not tolerate too much salt since they do not urinate to remove excess amounts. I know you said you bought the feed new, however, the store or warehouse may have had it setting around. One book I have says feed should be used within 4 weeks of being milled. I think that is a little soon myself but the point is made that it starts to lose nutrients quickly. We have talked a good deal about feed and it may or may not have anything to do with your problem, but its been a good conversation Hopefully this will pass. I know how frustrating it is to not know what you are dealing with. keep us posted.

For the curious, an update. Lost a total of 5 birds, last just a few days ago. That pullet just stopped walking one day, literally, good body condition though hadn't begun to lay like the other pullets hatched the same day as her.

Necropsied two, couldn't spare the expense for more. The vet emailed the following:

Both femoral heads had chronic necrosis (bone was dying) - the femoral head is the part of the leg that fits into the hip joint. Some intestinal roundworms - remind me next time and I'll leave you some Ivermectin for this.

"The poor body condition and skeletal changes in this bird are suggestive of nutritional imbalance (calcium deficiency). The collapsed corneas and urates around the vent may additionally suggest dehydration."

"The bones of the keel, skull and ribs are soft and pliable while the long bones are thin and brittle"

"Histologic findings show evidence of encephalitis" - that's inflammation of the brain with acute hemorrhage.

They (Cornell) think the encephalitis could have predisposed the bird to the signs that followed, ie weakness and loss of body condition. They are still doing some testing on the femur and the brain, so I'll let you know when those results come in. The chicken tests came back negative for EEE and West Nile.

Interesting, yes. Extremely frustrating, more so. They were good birds, barely getting into their own. They were my husband's wedding present to me. I can't agree with the deficiency hypothesis only because of it's unlikeliness. We use(d) commercial ration and different brands.

I'm reading up on avian encephalomyelitis. If that is the case I am debating vaccinating the chicks we're hoping to get come spring.

Altair, I am sure I am not going to tell you anything new, but have a few thoughts.

I like to give my birds a splash of apple cider vinegar in their water as it is believed to help with the uptake and absorption on calcium. I provide grit and oyster shell, the oyster shell being a source of calcium, plus the AC vinegar, just to cover all bases on helping the birds have healthy bones. Do not put apple cider vinegar into metal waterers, it will destroy them and cause them to rust!

If this bone problem is happening to just one breed in your hen house, and not ALL your birds, I would suspect that it is genetic, an inherited trait, as opposed to anything you might have accidentally caused.

At the time you started noticing problems, were your birds free ranging on grass? I see you are from Vermont and I am not familiar with the state of your grass by September, but here where I live in Canada it can be very mature, dry and tough. Birds that eat too much tough grass and tree needles are prone to blocked crops. A blocked crop can slow the passage of nutrients into a bird. If your birds are free ranging on tough, dry growth, you have to make sure they have lots of grit available to help grind that stuff up and move it through their system. Total blockage of the crop (impacted crop) is often fatal, leading to slow starvation that you don't notice until it is too late. However I also doubt this was the problem.

I keep a flock of mutts, they get pretty much no special treatment. They start life on unmedicated chick starter and as soon as they are big enough not to choke on a lay pellet, that's what they get. I have very few problems. My experience has been that chickens, for the most part, are pretty tough and durable. I suspect that the birds you got had problems that you did not cause! Sorry to hear of these troubles.